The Five Finest MLS Venues: Preview Edition

byThe YankonMay 1, 2009

MLS players have taken the pitch at dozens of venues over the last 14 years, but which are the best and the most significant to US soccer? That is the question this series of posts will seek to answer for you STO readers out there. Over the next week, I will rank the five finest venues in MLS history and I will tell you about their great features.

Now, this was a difficult list to concoct as MLS teams play in several nice stadiums. But, in the last decade, some pitches have risen above the others to truly become jewels of the league and the nation. The rise of “soccer specific stadiums” has separated some modern fields from their ancestors (i.e. fields like RFK which aren’t good for soccer).

How did I come up with the ranking? Well, I looked at every stadium an MLS team has ever used and asked myself the following queries:

Does the venue successfully showcase soccer?

Did the venue’s creation further popularize MLS?

Are the fans who frequent the venue pleased with its features?

Now, I know some STO readers and MLS fans will be upset if their stadium is left off the list, but remember I had to narrow the results down to only five fields. If I omitted one you think is deserving, let me hear about it in the comments. Until then, keep coming back to STO over the next week to hear about the five finest venues in MLS history.